They say this will involve higher fees and there are many other accredited audit firms in Malaysia.

BUTTERWORTH: DAP delegates who are qualified to vote in the re-election of the partyâs central executive committee (CEC) have objected to the appointment of Grant Thornton, an independent audit firm based in the United States, to oversee and conduct the partyâs re-election.

Former Bagan Luar DAP branch chairman G Asoghan questioned the appointment of the foreign firm as it would definitely involve higher fees, besides the fact that there were many other accredited audit firms in Malaysia.

âDAP is a political party in Malaysia, not in the US. So, why appoint a US-based audit firm?

âWe have a lot of audit firms in Malaysia. We donât want one from t he US.

âWho selected this firm? If DAP selected it, we (DAP members and delegates) oppose the appointment,â he told a press conference here today.

Last Saturday, the Registrar of Societies (RoS) agreed with the appointment of Grant Thornton by DAP to conduct the partyâs CEC re-election set for Nov 12.

Asoghan said the delegates had proposed several independent audit firms such as Deloitte, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Ernst & Young, for the partyâs top leadership to consider.

âThe delegates also have the right to choose the independent audit firm to conduct the partyâs CEC re-election.

âThey (DAP) must understand we want transparent elections,â he said.

Meanwhile, Asoghan repeated the call for DAP to issue the list of names and identity card numbers of its 2,576 delegates, who are qualified to vote, to be published in local newspapers.

He said they were still waiting for a reply from the party leadership to ma ke public the names of the delegates, as well as the independent firm appointed by the party.

âWe want DAP to follow RoSâ order in the 2012 election.

âWe want DAP to tell us the date, place, list of CEC candidates, list of qualified delegates according to the 865 branches and the list of 2,576 delegates in 2012.

âDAP has wasted a lot of time pointing fingers at the RoS. Is DAP trying to fool the Malaysian people to cover up their mistakes?â he asked.